Tell Me About the Lehigh Valley

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I don’t dwell on it too often, but I have a list of railroads that I would have liked to have seen in action, but that my 1980 birthyear didn’t allow. One of the railroads right at the top of that list has to be the Lehigh Valley. Every shot I’ve ever seen of the line just makes me wish I could have seen it in person. Beautiful paint jobs, ALCos, lovely scenery – it all seems wonderful.

Then I start thinking about it a bit more, and I realize that the above is the sum total of what I know of the Lehigh Valley – pretty paint, cool locos and the scenery. So, just for curiosity, what is their story? If there’s any good books on the subject, I’d love any suggestions there, too.

Thanks in advance!

2

Chris - There are many ! Two that I just plucked off the bookshelf above my desk here at work are:

Lehigh Valley Railroad: The New York Division, by Mike Bednar, Garrigues House, Publishers (P.O. Box 400 Laurys Station, PA 18059), Copyright 1993, ISBN 0-9620844-5-X, 138 pp. with almost all-color photos;

ALCO’s To Allentown, by Thomas A. Biery, The Railroad Press (1150 Carlisle Street, Suite 444, Hanover, PA 17331-1100), International Standard Book number [now I know what that stands for !] ISBN 0-9657709-1-5, 112 pp., mix of B&W and color photos (about 50-50).

Better yet, go to those 2 standards of the Internet age - Google and Amazon, ENTER, and stand back !

Check out the on-line RR booksellers. Also, other threads and forums, esp. of the “Fallen Flags” genre.

Aslo, check out Morningstar books - I believe they have several, too.

Also, the ARHS = Anthracite Railroads Historical Society’s quarterly magazine, “Flags, Diamonds, and Statues”, would be a good source.

Good luck, and enjoy - you really will.

  • Paul North.
3

Here’s a site with a very comprehensive list of the books:

http://www.lvrrmodeler.net/lvbooks.htm

I see it’s Morning Sun books (not “morningstar”, as I posted above).

See also http://www.enter.net/~lvrr/

I found these by entering “Lehigh Valley Railroad” (as a phrase) + “book” in Google Advanced Search - only about 9,578 more results to look at . . .

4

Paul,

Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll definately be checking some of those out!

5

I agree about it being very photogenic. Wasn’t it a coal hauler at heart?

6

Yes! But it was also a bridge carrier, the Grand Trunk-Canadian National to Suspension Bridge near Buffalo, and then the LV to Jersey City, was a competitive route in Chicago - NY freight, with slightly longer transit times and slightly lower rates. Passenger traffic followed the same route for through service, with through cars to Toronto as well, and Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal (but used Penn Station in Newark and New York), Reading from Bethleham, but still most passenger traffic was local, with Cornel University at Ithaca, NY a major passenger source. The red color is “Cornel Red.”

7

Yes indeed. Coal was it origins but overhead was its later bread and butter. One service was an intermodal train via the D&H from Dupont with LV run through power to Oneonta, NY. But most important toward the end was the NKP alliance with NKP run through power from Conneaut, OH to Sayre, PA.

8

A good portion of the former LV here in Pennsylvania and in NJ is either still in use - not all by NS, either - or accessible as a rail-trail. Real quickly and generally, here’s an overview:

  • Main line across NJ still in use as NS’ Lehigh Division, incl. the Pattenburg tunnel;

  • Easton, PA bridge over the Delaware River still there (CRRNJ bridge used instead), as is most of the former passenger station (cast concrete), the spindly bridge over the Lehigh River for the Easton & Northern branch, and the car shops towards Glendon (not the turntable - it’s gone now);

  • Most of the Easton & Northern branch is being turned into a rail-trail;

  • Main line in Penna. is still in use by NS from Easton to Allentown, and is accessible or visible from either parallel roads or overhead bridges. The Richards yard between Easton and Allentown is gone, and the Calypso Yard between between Bethlehem and Allentown is essentially unused for many years. The main is in great shape, though - see the many pictures of it along the former Bethlehem Steel complex;

  • Allentown to Lehighton main is gone, but is gradually being turned into a rail-trail, esp. in Carbon County from Lehigh Gap / Palmerton. A 2-mile section in Lehigh Co. from Slatington north to the Gap opened a year or two ago. The large former shop or warehouse building in the Packerton Yard was torn down a year or two ago by Carbon County;

  • Lehighton to White Haven - mostly still used by NS, though I’m not sure of all the details in the lower half of the Lehigh Gorge from Jim Thorpe/ Glen Onoko to Penn Haven Junction (Weatherly) - some may be on the CRRNJ R-O-W, and Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern may own or have rights on 1 of the tracks. But for sure from Penn Haven Jct. to White Haven the LV is still being used. Best part is that the Lehig

9

[quote user=“Paul_D_North_Jr”]

A good portion of the former LV here in Pennsylvania and in NJ is either still in use - not all by NS, either - or accessible as a rail-trail. Real quickly and generally, here’s an overview:

  • Main line across NJ still in use as NS’ Lehigh Division, incl. the Pattenburg tunnel;

  • Easton, PA bridge over the Delaware River still there (CRRNJ bridge used instead), as is most of the former passenger station (cast concrete), the spindly bridge over the Lehigh River for the Easton & Northern branch, and the car shops towards Glendon (not the turntable - it’s gone now);

  • Most of the Easton & Northern branch is being turned into a rail-trail;

  • Main line in Penna. is still in use by NS from Easton to Allentown, and is accessible or visible from either parallel roads or overhead bridges. The Richards yard between Easton and Allentown is gone, and the Calypso Yard between between Bethlehem and Allentown is essentially unused for many years. The main is in great shape, though - see the many pictures of it along the former Bethlehem Steel complex;

  • Allentown to Lehighton main is gone, but is gradually being turned into a rail-trail, esp. in Carbon County from Lehigh Gap / Palmerton. A 2-mile section in Lehigh Co. from Slatington north to the Gap opened a year or two ago. The large former shop or warehouse building in the Packerton Yard was torn down a year or two ago by Carbon County;

  • Lehighton to White Haven - mostly still used by NS, though I’m not sure of all the details in the lower half of the Lehigh Gorge from Jim Thorpe/ Glen Onoko to Penn Haven Junction (Weatherly) - some may be on the CRRNJ R-O-W, and Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern may own or have rights on 1 of the tracks. But for sure from Penn Haven Jct. to White Haven the LV is still being used. Best part is that the Lehigh River Gorge State Park rail-trail allows you to either bik

10

Some excellent info so far!

This may be a dumb question, but was the LV part of the Conrail merger?

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Oh, yeah! That’s the why, who, and when of it being carved up!

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The historical society http://www.lvrrhs.org/

Enjoy

Paul

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And don’t forget the Anthracite Ry’s Historical Society and the LV Chapter, NRHS in Allentown area.

14

The LV was one of several New York to Buffalo lines, others of course including Lackawanna. They dropped passenger service at an early date, and much of their route has proven to be more valuable after they went out. Their main yard in New Jersey, Oak Island, was chosen by Conrail to be the primary yard for the combined systems, and is still used today by NS and CSX, spoken for by the Conrail shared assets, I believe. One of the unique things about LV was their tendency to have multiple paint schemes at one time.

15

Dear Chris,

I Lived near the LV Main line all my life my best memory of the LVRR is at Pattenburg-West Portal tunel the longest on the line hauling steel from Bethlehem Penna. and coal from abroad to Hoboken NJ.and beond.

Jack,

From eastern Penna.

16

I should have been out in PA this week on vacation, but it was cancelled.

Originally, I was all ramped up to go to Horseshoe Curve, but as I began checking out the Allentown area, the LV just jumped out at me.

The Morning Sun book Lehigh VAlley in Color by Robert J. Yanosey was excellent.

I see a listing from Paul for Mike Bednar’s book. He has a regular column on railroading in the Lehigh Valley area on TRP magazine. He tells a great story and for the most part the columns are based on the Lehighton-Allentown area. That also spiked my interest in the area.

Paul, if you recommend his book, I will find it. Is it mainly a photo, extended caption book?

That area thru the gorge looks incredible. It would be great to hike, bike, or canoe thru that region. Perhaps next year. Also, there are steam excursions thru the Jim Thorpe area. Speaking of Jim Thorpe, that seems like an interesting town.

Now my attention has turned to the Erie Lackawanna and the pre-merger railroads. Fascinating area.

ed